I went to a taxonomy conference [recently] and much of the discussion was around 'are we a profession?', 'what are the qualifications needed?', 'what should we call ourselves,' and 'do we need a certification program?' HFI is way ahead of the game and has done so much to provide standards for the usability field through their courses and programs. I really appreciate the work they're doing and feel that I'm able to do a better job for my company as a result of HFI's courses and certification program.

Our usability team saw the value in acquiring an 'outside' accreditation and pursued HFI's certification program. We've now had many successes and an ever-widening circle of people seek our expertise. The value of usability is being recognized by an ever-increasing population within our company.

After becoming an HFI-certified CUA, I have seen my approach towards design change a lot. I am able to take usability to the next level in my career only because of the education and guidance provided during the training. Each and every day of my work life makes me realize the ‘value’ added to my professional abilities and I am sure that the new courses will continue to enrich us in the world of usability. I thank HFI for opening the new horizon; I really keep asking myself why I didn’t think of it earlier than I did.

In terms of system projects, this has probably been one of the more successful projects in our organization. And it has been well received. Now we have the president of our company using this tool, right down to the individual on the shop floor and in the field. That's very gratifying for us to know, that we have a tool that is actually being used – from the casual user to the expert user.

HFI's expert team took our site to the next level of usability. We completely redesigned our public portal. Prototypes of our new design were so well received by California's State CIO and other California state agencies that our approach has become the new model to consider following for redesigns. Given the significant increase in site usability, I view this investment as money well spent that provides a tangible return and significant impact for California citizens and our business partners.

Before HFI helped us redesign our intranet, ARINC's employees had trouble finding what they were looking for. People had to navigate through department subsites that each looked very different from one another. The results of the usability tests and card sorts have given us an Intranet which is much more cohesive and userfriendly. HFI also taught our Web team how to use these great new methods to create future Intranet pages on our own.

People interact with government because they have to, kind of like going to the dentist. We must create a simple, understandable environment to let them do their business and get out.

The City of LA has re-imaged its online presence. Our new site features richer content, social media connectivity, and online 311 services. I’m proud to say that we’ve built one of the best city websites in the country. Website usability was top priority for the redesign to be a success. The greatest amount of effort and focus was placed on the design and usability testing phases of the project and HFI provided great help and guidance with that.

We’re investing in a smart, social, and open government, And through our website, Angelenos, small-business owners, and tourists will have a portal to explore all the City has to offer.

Usability is grounded in empirical work with real users, giving us a more objective basis for decisions about Web design. This helps our departments get out of their 'silos' and become more customer-centric. Usability analysis helps us avoid biased designs based on our own perspectives.

Everyone who attended HFI’s executive presentation was impressed and blown away by their knowledge and professionalism. HFI offered critique without being critical... it was a real eye-opener. Dr. Eric Schaffer’s book, Institutionalization of Usability: A Step-by-Step Guide, had a lot to do with getting the ball rolling.

HFI complemented PFPC’s industry knowledge with their sophisticated expertise in usability and user experience design. Our redesigned AdvisorCentral portal now combines leading-edge technology and functionality with a firstclass user experience. It lets financial intermediaries do their job more easily and provides tools to help them increase their business.

Usability is part of the maturation of the development process. Originally, most IT shops focused on functionality, budgets and deadlines. Next they concentrated on quality, architecture and integration. All of these objectives are necessary for a "good" system. However, even with all those pieces in place, a good systems solution can fail if it has poor usability. Poor usability hides great design and architecture. Designing for usability from the very beginning of the project life cycle not only gives you better user acceptance but improves requirements gathering and overall quality as well.

Before I earned my CUA, I was already top ranked here. There was no higher level for me to be promoted to, and no way for me to earn any more money. The main impact, for me, has to do with the performance of my job. Two specific things come to mind. First, I have an improved ability to structure and articulate the concepts I learned in my training to my team. Knowing something – intuitively or through experience—doesn’t necessarily enable one to communicate that knowledge effectively. Now, I can say in 10 words what I used to say in 100. Second, the certification has improved my credibility with the organization and on my own team. Having the CUA after my name shows that I am dedicated to my practice and have put effort into becoming skilled. In addition, the training itself has plugged me into a community of usability experts. I speak with experts on the forums, and receive emails from HFI with relevant news. There are even people from my HFI courses who I am now friends with, whom I would not have met otherwise. I receive updates, editorials, and other publications which keep me up-to-date on the latest developments in the field. Overall, the training made the knowledge clear, simple, and immediately practical.